Everything great in the world is done by neurotics; they alone founded our religions and created our masterpieces. ~Marcel Proust

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Enemy Mine- The Sunday Collage

I can hardly believe it's been 30 years but it has been. Sometime in 1985, a movie was released called "Enemy Mine." It was a science fiction flick about two warring worlds- ours and an alien force. During an aerial or interstellar dogfight, two opposing fighter pilots get shot down and land on another planet. Eventually they make nice with each other when they discover that there are other, more deadly, adversaries trying to kill them. On this planet, they discovered there were far greater enemies than each other.

They were taught to hate each other because their culture had indoctrinated them with this belief.
Of course the belief was nonsense. That was the point of the story.

The American people have been indoctrinated with the same foolishness. It is called "Democrat vs. Republican or liberals vs. conservatives."

Why is that? Is it just human nature to identify with one tribe and hate the other? Yes, actually I think that is part of it. Opposing ideology is the yin and yang of our existence. Unfortunately, while we are all caught up in this fight without end- the real enemy hides in the shadows and snickers. The real enemy could care less about gay rights, abortions, the environment. The real enemy actually feeds on those types of distractions- pitting one side against the other.

It is a game for fools. Like arguing with atheists or religious zealots.

There are literally millions of people fully invested in this epic struggle while the real enemy- laughs at all the suckers. Suckers are obsessed with capital punishment, abortion, or any number of unsolvable issues. It's not that those issues aren't important per se- it's just that each of these issues and many more- provide fuel to keep the opposing tribes fighting while the educated and elite, the crony capitalists, steal everything in sight.

This week I'd like to turn you on to one of my favorite blogs, "A Lightning War for Liberty." The author, Michael Kreiger, gets it. Krieger himself is a fascinating kid. Young enough to be my son. Extremely rich.

What Krieger understands, all too well, is that the real enemy of the American people is not some ridiculous philosophy. The real enemy in America is a corporate oligarchy that has bought and paid for our millionaire Congress all of whom practice- crony capitalism. They have literally ruined the Republic. I say ruined in the past tense.

Crony capitalism got it's start with lobbyists and bribes. It was facilitated by a Congress without term limits- Congressmen and women who stay in power seemingly forever and who get greased with all kinds of goodies like free loans from Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide. Or lucrative job offers, trips, speaking engagements, stock tips, and gawd knows what else. All that is required is a vote here or there. The rest gets taken care of.

It is no wonder why the Congressmen and women in power absolutely refuse to relinquish that power. They are the greediest, most self centered sociopaths that ever drew a breath. They literally laugh at the concept of public service. With a 10% approval rate-a normal functioning adult might try and do something to improve that image or heaven forbid- quit.

Not this crew of self seeking assholes.

One example. The tax code. Can you imagine the goodwill Congress could get as a group if they engaged in a fair tax? The American people would love them. Why don't they do it? Because every one of these millionaire Congressmen, every one of their rich banker buddies and crony capitalist friends- benefits from the tax code just the way that it is. So why would any of you think there is a snowball's chance in hell of ever getting tax reform?

There's not.

All of this greed gets greased by the greatest crony capitalists of all- the Federal Reserve and it's member banks and Wall Street investment houses. The banking cartel. They hijacked our tax money, bailed out their buddies, and have engaged in the greatest counterfeiting and inflation scandal of the last two centuries. Manipulating every market from libor rates to gold.

So do you really think the enemy is some liberal driving a Prius who thinks the ACA is a good deal? Some guy that thinks corporate welfare is out of control and blames the GOP? Or do you think the enemy is some conservative who thinks abortion is murder? Or who thinks atheists are idiots?

The sad truth is that Americans don't have a clue who the real enemy is. The enemy is the people who have hijacked your work product, who are diluting and ruining your currency, who have bribed your Congressmen with all sorts of promises implied and overt- and who are blowing the greatest stock market bubble of all time. The crony capitalists are in control of the media, the price of oil, and they are rigging markets with the help of the agencies that are supposed to be regulating them. It's never, ever, been this bad.

The new age crony capitalists, the elite, have been waging war on the hoi polloi and we've been too busy fighting amongst ourselves to realize who the real enemy is. Warren Buffett says the war is over- his side won and he's not referring to republicans or democrats. I hate to give the old robber baron any props but this time- I think he's right.

When I was a kid back in the '70s, I was taught and absorbed well the lesson that America and all she stood for was great, and that the Soviet Union, Red China and communism wherever it flourished was evil. Now, I see that it's not the Russian or Chinese people I should fear and hate, nor the people of any other nation no matter their race, color or creed.. No, it's their government(s), and our government too, that I should fear and hate. The common men and women (of any country one cares to name) are just as much prisoners and slaves of their sociopathic governments as we are of ours. The world has been carved up in much the same way as various gangs carve up a city so that they can exploit those who reside in their turf. And behind many of those governments lurk the ultimate bankster sociopaths pulling their strings, instructing the puppet politicians what issues to breathe life into so as to keep we the slaves at each others' throats and away from theirs. Divide and conquer. The Romans knew it well. The only thing which will eventually topple our own corrupt American Empire is that those who pull the strings have no limit to their greed. Their overreach and lust to fill that empty spot where a soul should be, and which will never be filled even if they owned a Universe of Universes, will eventually be their downfall. Unfortunately, a good many good people will be extinguished in the conflagration as they turn on each other, never for a minute grasping the fact that they are not enemies, but were led to believe that they are by the powers that be.

“We don’t need a leader. We need a conscience.”-Ahmed Hassan, The Square

We have become a nation of blame. We hold others responsible for our lack of success and unhappiness. Though I cannot disagree with the mechanisms and policies which have driven us, as a nation, to this point in history, I cannot agree with the placing of blame on greedy politicians and bankers. People will act without conscience (a moral center) only when those with a conscience (a moral center) allow them to do so. Remove the greedy banker and politician and they will be replaced with a similar. The mechanism, the policy, serve the people..When the people begin to think, speak, and act with a conscience then, and only then, will systems change. The challenge...as an individual, is to think, speak, and act with a conscience, in all things, in all ways, all the time.

What excellent comments. I may only have 4 readers- but I have the smartest 4 readers on the whole fucking interwebs! Thanks youse guys.

And cousin J...when leadership fails, we get the America we got. If your leadership is nothing but a bunch of liars and thieves...that becomes the standard for everyone else. When people get their feet held to the fire and the rule of law gets re-installed- people will start to act responsibly again. In a lawless culture where Eric Holder has not prosecuted one banker, one scandal, or done anything other than extort giant fines from banks- this is what we get. We have the heads of the IRS invoking 5th amendment privileges on work related issues and keeping their jobs. When was the last time you lied to your bosses without repercussion?

Brian, well put. As I see it there is only one way to break the cycle. That is to vote 3rd party. For me it is Libertarian as they believe in limited government. Also, Libertarians for the most part are in favor of fair tax. In the last 8 years I have written my Representatives numerous times and have followed their votes and suffice it to say the game is rigged. I know for a fact that calls and emails to my Rep regarding TARP yup the Bush one were 30 to 1 against and the bastard still voted for it. His response was things were too complicated and dangerous for public to understand. Suffice it to say a few years later he resigned due to a scandal so I couldn't actively politic against him. Keep up the great writing.

Brian...this is why I read your blog. Have been for a while. I do wish you'd post more often, but I understand. Call me your 5th fan if you like.I read Denninger's Market Ticker, between the both of you, if I ever saw a worthwhile presidential ticket, there it is.Denninger, however, isn't even a fan of Libertarianism due to much of the inherent hipocrisy they engage in.

As I say many many times...."People keep voting for the lesser of two evils, or the lesser of two weasels. Then they wonder why government is populated pretty much entirely by evil weasels."

Thank you. I try to post at least one "quality or original" piece once a week. Regurgitating the same old stuff gets old. I had a very old lady, a matriarch in the community ask me once- "we have so many good people- how come they never run for office?" I thought about that for years. I've been thinking of making that this Sunday's piece...thanks again pakkinpoppa.